Rafael Nadal's mastery of the Monte Carlo clay courts seems to be over. The top-ranked Spaniard hopes his confidence isn't gone, too. Nadal lost to fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 7-6 (1), 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the Monte Carlo Masters on Friday, his earliest exit since 2003 at a tournament that helped build his reputation as perhaps the greatest clay-court player of all time. Nadal won eight consecutive titles here from 2005-12, before losing to Novak Djokovic in last year's final. Read more http://espn.go.com/tennis/story/_/id/10801755/rafael-nadal-makes-earliest-monte-carlo-exit-11-years
